Various exercise devices including height adjustment feature for horizontal bars, which are attached to vertical walls or associated structures.
The prior art includes exercising or sport equipment for conducting pull-ups and chin-ups, or horizontal bars for gymnastics and ballet.
Included among the prior art patents are:
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. Nos. ______________________________________ 290,033 of Policastro 297,957 of Gordon 838,539 of Haye 1,286,151 of Tothill 1,410,149 of Williams et al. 2,706,631 of Holmes 2,932,510 of Kravitz 3,642,278 of Hinckley 4,126,307 of Stevenson 4,227,688 of Senoh et al. 4,286,782 of Fuhrop 4,696,470 of Fenner 4,749,187 of Dellinger 4,772,011 of Guridi 5,516,580 of Holland et al. ______________________________________
Among foreign patents include France Patent No. 862,797 of Etienne and Italian Patent No. 319,819 of Crespi.
Of the relevant prior art, U.S. Pat. No. 2,932,510 of Kravitz, concerns a portable ballet bar. Design Patent No. 290,033 of Policastro concerns an exercise bar apparatus and design patent no. 297,957 of Gordon, III concerns a chin-up bar.
U.S. Pat. No. 838,539 of Haye relates to an amusement device. The apparatus has a horizontal bar (15) supported by a frame and an upright (16). An appropriate means may be employed for the vertical adjustment of the horizontal bar (see page 2, lines 78-94).
U.S. Pat. No. 1,286,151 of Tothill discloses a horizontal bar used on playgrounds and athletic fields. The bar is secured to the uprights by a locking device, which is made of a flat piece bent upon itself to form an eye at its upper end. The lower end is bent to provide two parallel spaced-apart portions to receive a pin.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,410,149 of Williams et al. describes a horizontal bar having frame members to support the bar. The frame members may be folded to release the bar. The apparatus can also be easily stored or packed.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,642,278 of Hinckley relates to a chinning bar apparatus having a bar adjustably attached to a vertical structural member. U-shaped bolts are used to adjust the height of the bar.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,126,307 of Stevenson describes a portable ballet bar. The bar comprises a handrail supported by a pair of adjustable legs. Each leg has a bracing member to secure the bar in a certain position.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,227,688 of Senoh et al. describes an exercise bar comprising a grip rod supported by uprights having chains or cables for anchoring the hooks for supporting the structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,286,782 of Fuhrop discloses a multi-purpose exercise apparatus having an adjustable horizontal member. The apparatus is easily collapsible and readily storable.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,156,580 of Holland et al. describes a therapeutic traction apparatus for enabling a person to apply gentle traction to the human spine by suspending the entire body vertically by the arms while supporting some of the weight through the legs. The apparatus includes an adjustable hanging bar and support members. The support members are secured to a spreader bar by triangular panel members.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,772,011 of Guridi is for an exercise apparatus installable within a door way. The device is not self standing, and Guridi '011 requires a door jamb as its main structure. It is not adjustable from a position of use. Because it must be installed in a door jamb, the device of Guridi '011 is unsafe and inconvenient for users.
Moreover, changing the height of the horizontal bar in Guridi '011 requires the complex task of unscrewing, removing, and relocating and screwing again the threaded holding knobs.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,696,470 of Fenner describes a dancer's barre structure with a horizontal rail held by the dancer while practicing dance exercise. However, the Fenner '470 structure includes two vertical bars located at the extreme edge of a base, rather than at a central location along the lateral edges, which creates an unstable mechanism unless the user's weight is kept to the base side of the structure.
Also, folding down of the Fenner '470 structure takes up much space, since the hinging is done in the direction of the edge of the base, as opposed to folding towards the middle surface of the base. As a result, for portability purposes, the lateral size of the Fenner structure base must be as large as the size of the vertical upright bars.
Moreover, Fenner cannot be adjusted by the user while in use, since adjusting the height of Fenner '470 structure is cumbersome, as it requires unscrewing and screwing of each of tightened wing nuts into respective holes of the vertical bars.
In addition, the horizontal bar of Fenner is not removable, but is permanently attached to an upper portion of the vertical bars.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,706,631 of Holmes and U.S. Pat. No. 4,749,187 of Dellinger describe track and field hurdles which are height adjustable. However, both devices are by nature designed to tip over and fall down when struck by a hurdler, in the direction away from the base legs. Therefore, neither Holmes '631 or Dellinger '187 teach a device which can be pulled from below while remaining stable upon the ground.
Moreover, neither the Holmes '631 and Dellinger '187 are designed to fold down for portability, as the vertical upright bars are "L" shaped, with permanent horizontal base leg portions attached to the vertical bars.
In Dellinger '187, movement of the horizontal bar requires also moving downwardly extending vertical supports which are permanently attached to the horizontal bar. In addition, the cumbersome latch mechanism for moving the latch pins on each downward extension into appropriate holes in the vertical bars includes a handle below the horizontal bar which cannot be gripped by the fingers of a user holding the horizontal bar from below.
Furthermore, the spring loaded handles of Holmes '631 are adjacent to each other below and in the vicinity of the horizontal bar, so changing the position cannot be accomplished without moving the palms of the user's hands away from the horizontal bar.
Furthermore, as in Dellinger '187, the handles are also below the horizontal bar, so they cannot be manipulated by the user's fingers while holding the horizontal bar from below.
Moreover, none of the allegedly portable devices of Fenner '470, Dellinger '187 or Holmes '631 can be used by a user lying in a supine position above a base and below a horizontal bar, because all three devices of Fenner '470, Dellinger '187 and Holmes '631 include structural impediments between the horizontal bar above a user and the base below the user.
For example, the hurdles of both Holmes '631 and Dellinger '187 include lower horizontal structural cross bars which interrupt the space between the upper horizontal bar and the base, thus preventing a user from lying supine therebetween.
Furthermore, Holmes also includes a second cross bar below the horizontal bar.
Fenner '470 includes inwardly and upwardly extending angled support brackets, which partially interrupt the space between the horizontal bar and the base, also preventing the user from lying supine therebetween.
Furthermore, the Dellinger '187 device is not readily adjustable from the position of use, as it is evident that vertical adjustment is spring loaded to the main frame, and it requires opposing loads and balanced forces at both ends to prevent binding of the vertical members.
In addition, the Dellinger '187 and Holmes '631 hurdles need to be adjusted by the user while standing up, thereby teaching away from the adjustment of the bar during use. For example, Holmes '631 describes adjusting the hurdle by retracting the pins with one hand and raising the horizontal bar with the other hand.